Swarthmore Phoenix, September 19, 2019

Today in OPINIONS: Daniel Fernandez on the Climate Strke A7, Dvita Kapadia on Mental Health A8, Maya Smith on Sex and Pharmaceuticals A9

THE

PHOENIX

Artist of the Week:

Grace Dumdaw

VOL. 148, NO. 2

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Athlete of the Week

Meet Woojin Shin

September 19, 2019

of men’s soccer

New Leadership, Same Direction for the Intercultural Center, Women’s Resource Center Jacinta FernandesBrough News Writer

T

he Intercultural Center at Swarthmore has seen significant transformation in space and personnel over the past year, and while substantial changes in leadership and staff can often create challenges as a program transitions, the new staff members and students alike are determined to hit the ground running this semester.

After Nyk Robinson, the former interim assistant IC director and associate director of gender and sexuality initiatives, de-

parted at the end of last year, Imaani El-Burki was hired to be assistant dean and director of the IC. Tiffany Thompson was also came on board as the associate director of gender and sexuality initiatives and Women’s Resources Center program manager. Hanan Ahmed ’19 was hired as diversity, inclusion and community development associate.

Imaani El-Burki, the new assistant dean and director of the IC, is re-

turning to Swarthmore after having first visited the campus in 2008 as a Black Cultural Center graduate intern. El-Burki also spent two years as the program director for Project Blueprints, which provided academic and cultural support for middle and high school children in the Chester, PAarea.

El-Burki received her BA in communication from Temple University, an MS. in communication and Ph.D. in communication,

culture, and media from Drexel University. El-Burki also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Lehigh University, where she worked as both an active professor and associate director of Africana studies, before moving to become the Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Moravian College.

Tiffany Thompson is the new associate director of gender and sexuality initiative and WRC program manager. Thompson has

fifteen years of involvement in sexual and reproductive health, gender rights, homelessness, trauma, and LGBTQ+ advocacy.

Thompson completed a BA in international business and marketing with a Japanese minor, at Georgetown University, and an MS. in strategic communications at Temple University.

Thompson comes to Swarthmore from her role as the associate direc-

CONTENTS News A1-A3 Arts A4-A6 Opinions A7-A9 Sports A10-11 Read more at swarthmorephoenix.com Copyright © 2019 The Phoenix

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The Co-op’s annual food-truckathon attracted students, staff, faculty, and community members for its largest turnout in the history of the event.

Co-Op’s Largest Truckathon Yet Draws Crowd and Criticism Hundreds of Swarthmore students and ville residents rushed to the CO-OP this Saturday, as more than two dozen food trucks rolled into Dartmouth Avenue for Swarthmore’s fourteenth biannual “Food Truck a Thon.”

The often quiet town lit up for four hours as children, college students, and adults gathered to share

and enjoy the variety of diverse foods and desserts.

According to the general manager of the CO-OP, Mike Litka, this is exactly what he wanted out of the event: to create an opportunity for people in the town to come together and have fun.

“The event is basically just being community centric,” said Litka.

Litka also noted how fast the event, which originally started in 2012, has grown

in the last few years.

“It just kind of started out just as [a little] I think three or four food trucks on Lincoln way right next to the store and it’s just evolved over the years.”

From the three or four food trucks in 2012, the event this Saturday brought in 23 food trucks.

In fact, the CO-OP’s food truckathon is now the biggest food truck event in Delco, offering a wide variety of options.

Ash Shukla Chief Copy Editor

“I don’t think I’ve been to the same place twice,” Emma Dulski ’22 remarked.

The incredible success of the event over the years spurred excitement within the food-trucker community as well.

“Food trucks know food trucks and keep inviting each other and we try to keep the folks that are standard long term with

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Best Chantanapongvanij / The Phoenix

Best Chantanapongvanij News Writer

New Online Housing Portal Opens Doors for Swarthmore Students Last semester, Swarthmore introduced a new online housing portal to simplify the Spring housing lottery, during which students choose housing for the upcoming academic year. The new portal facilitates the processes of blocking, selecting a room through the Spring housing lottery, and selecting meal plans. According to Isaiah Thomas, Swarthmore’s director of residential communities, the primary goal of the new housing portal was to improve student housing selection.

The housing lottery system before Spring 2019 consisted of students gathering and waiting in lines in the Matchbox to select their rooms for the coming academic year. When students’ housing lottery numbers were called, they selected their future rooms. The old system also meant that students abroad or academic leave were unable to participate in the in-person process, which caused challenges for those students.

The old, in-person process left students with high stress levels, a symptom which Thomas said the new housing lottery attempts to solve.

“As I’ve worked at Swarthmore for over five years, I have witnessed how stressful the “in-person” process of Swatties choosing their rooms, and OSE is committed to making housing selection as stress-free as possible, especially given that housing selection takes place near the end of Spring semester.”

Instead of physically choosing their rooms, students are now assigned short windows of time based on their housing lottery numbers, during which they log onto the portal and choose their rooms. Students can sign up for rooms from the comfort of their own

The week ahead Today Urban Teachers Information Session 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Parrish 159 Friday WRC Karaoke Night 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Women’s Resource Center Saturday Vertigo-go Improv Show 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Science Center Room 101 Sunday ARTolerance: Dialogue in Three Movements 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Lang Music Concert Hall Monday Swarthmore Climate Strike 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday Getting into Grad School 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Science Center Room 101 Wednesday KISS (Keys to Internships Search Success) 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Science Center Room 101

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The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881

THE PHOENIX NEWS

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IC and WRC, continued from A1 tor of the LGBT Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to this she has been involved with the Philadelphia Youth Network, Philadelphia FIGHT’s Youth Health Empowerment Project, and Galaei (a queer Latinx social justice nonprofit based in Philadelphia).

Thompson has also served as the city liaison for the Philly Dyke March, a grantee selection member of the Jonathan Lax Scholarship Fund for Gay Men, and spent five years abroad in Japan.

Hanan Ahmed is the new diversity, inclusion and community develop-

ment associate. A 2019 Swarthmore graduate, Ahmed, completed a BA in psychology and Peace and Conflict Studies. During her time as a student Ahmed was a lab associate with Professor Ann Renninger in the Educational Psychology lab, a Student Academic Mentor, and

was one of three Swarthmore students selected to participate in a Stanford University Innovation Fellowship. Over the past summer Ahmed interned at the Black Women’s Health Alliance in North Philadelphia, helping with the organization of the National Coalition of

Black Women’s Domestic Violence Summit, as well as co-facilitating a Safe Dates Teen Dating Violence workshops.

“As a new team in this space and in this building we are excited to support and inspire the creation of a shared vision. Our goal is to build upon the already

rich culture of the HormelNguyen Intercultural Center as the empowering and healing environment that the IC is to the Swarthmore Community,” wrote El-Burki, Thompson, and Ahmed in a joint statement in an email to the Phoenix.

Working alongside the staff to coordinate the IC program for this semester are a team of interns.

These students are involved in the organisation of the center’s activities, from hosting discussions on relevant matters, to providing resources to other groups on campus.

Looking forward to the semester ahead IC intern Dani Gomez ’22 is confident that the IC’s transition will be seamless.

“The interns are really invested in making this a smooth transition … it was really important that we have deans that understand the students and don’t come from a place of ‘back where I used to work we did it this way’ … having the ability to adapt to our environment, to realise what we need, and what direction we want to be going, I think is really important,” said Gomez.

As the semester unfolds the IC team is fully dedicated to providing a supportive and empowering environment for the student body.

Photo courtesy of the BCC

Phi Beta Kappa Speaker Encourages Optimism in Climate Discussion Naomi Horn News Writer

Last Thursday, Richard B. Alley, a professor of Geosciences at Penn State University, came to Swarthmore to provide a more optimistic look at climate issues.

A crowd of a few dozen students and faculty gathered in Sci 101 to listen to Professor Alley, Phi Beta Kappa’s visiting scholar of the year. Alley studies how ice forms and works. He is the author of “Telling the Good News Too,” a book about energy and the environment, and has worked with the United Nations and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on climate issues.

Before Professor Alley began his talk, Swarthmore biology professor Jose-Luis Machado, introduced him. According to Machado, Alley’s optimism about humans’ abilities to positively affect the climate was refreshing. He emphasized the importance of learning how to effectively translate sci-

entific knowledge to the general public, praising Alley’s work as an example of this.

Alley spoke about energy usage, and argued that although the science behind climate change is well-established, communication needs to improve in order to see progress on climate issues. He first outlined the historical data showing the physics of global warming, explaining that the science itself is undisputed. He also presented arguments for the economic soundness of investing in renewable energy, explaining that even without subsidizing wind and solar, these energy sources are still competitively priced when compared to fossil fuels.

Alley said that factually, there is an established need for climate change solutions, but that within the United States, the biggest barrier to this is misinformation and mistrust of science.

“I really do believe that these are generally good

people who have been misled. Someone paid some money to mislead them,” Alley said, addressing the many Americans who do not see climate change as an urgent issue.

To address political polarization and mistrust of academia, Alley argued that more diverse voices must come together.

“I tend to think that the people who understand the science but do something else are important… we’ve got to have historians and communicators and artists and economists,” he said.

Alley further expressed that people are tired of hearing academics talk about climate change, and that fresh perspectives and tools of communication are needed.

“They’re the ones who matter in this story. We’ve got to talk to people and listen to people. We may need to start with different communicators because some of them won’t want to listen to me. It’s important to emphasize how important science

is… let’s be honest here, the job is to help people.

That’s what they really pay for. It’s not enough to make knowledge. We have to make the knowledge useful.”

Alley gave examples from a PBS documentary that was made as an adaptation of his book. In the documentary, information was provided by a wide variety of experts. For example, a United States Military Admiral talked about climate change, Texas ranchers explained the economic benefits of wind farms, and United States Marines spoke about the safety benefits of renewable energy. When a focus group of Texans watched the documentary, they were impressed that these problems were explained by people they could relate to, like service members and fellow Texans. Alley was proud of this effect. By framing climate issues in ways that are accessible to those outside of academia, he hopes that the general population will connect with these issues in ways

that support innovative solutions.

“81% of Americans cannot name a living scientist,” he said. “Different voices telling the same story actually help reach different people a whole lot better.”

This message provided students with a framework for thinking about climate issues. Alley emphasized that a future of entirely renewable energy is achievable.

Rozella Apel ’22 said that the talk provided her with new insights.

“I usually don’t go to climate talks, but the title struck me as exciting and unexpected and I thought it would be a great learning opportunity,” she said.

The talk did prove to be a great learning opportunity for Apel, as it made her rethink the way she talks about climate change.

“What stood out most to me was the idea of solutions being more palatable to the greater public than problems. In the future, instead of trying to convince people to fear climate cri-

sis as I do, I think it may be much more effective to focus on positive, and often economical, solutions for small to medium scale problems... I want to learn to listen better so that my climate rhetoric isn’t exclusive to only the left and highly educated.”

Alley didn’t offer concrete actionable suggestions beyond rethinking communication. He said that as a scientist, he did not feel qualified to decide specifically how to change the dialogue surrounding these issues. By emphasizing that we have the tools to fix this problem, he guided his audience towards finding their own place in the fight against climate change.

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Housing Portal, continued from A1 dorms, and students on leave and abroad are also able to participate without issue.

Thomas said that the new housing portal, although it has overhauled most of the old housing process, maintains certain core aspects of the former housing system.

“Despite these changes, it was important to the Housing Advisory Committee and me that transitioning to the new housing portal would not result in significant changes to our philosophy of assigning student housing. One example of this is that our philosophy around how lottery numbers are derived and assigned to students have not changed.”

Students have had both positive and negative experiences with the new housing portal. Thomas said that students generally appreciate the ease of the new portal.

“The most significant piece of positive feedback I’ve heard from many students is that they appreciate the overall convenience of selecting their room online. The ability to receive a specific day and time to select their room or block eliminates the need for students to wait, potentially for hours, to select their room.”

He also said that the new portal adds convenience through the multiple functions it serves for students.

“In addition to housing selection, students use the housing portal to indicate if they wish to live offcampus, Summer Housing registration, and Secure Storage registration. All new students also use the housing portal to complete their Roommate Questionnaire.”

Zach Lytle ’21 found the housing portal to be nothing out of the ordinary.

“I mean, overall, it’s like what you expect from an online portal, there’s some buttons, there are some tabs, there’s a log in … ”

On the other hand, Lytle also found the process overly sluggish and preferred the prior system of choosing rooms and blocks in terms of efficiency. Prior to the new housing portal, students selected blocks all at once, as opposed to selecting blocks of different sizes over a period of several days.

“If we’re going to be frank here, I thought the process was way too drawn out ... And it feels like, like, their old system of blocking was more efficient.

You just submitted all the blocks you wanted in order of preference. Biggest to smallest. Then, they released all the blocks at once.”

Lytle also experienced difficulty with regards to the narrow time slots that the housing portal provides to choose rooms through the housing lottery.

“I had like a 10:30 time slot on the second day that of the lottery, so a pretty crappy time … so I ended up missing my time slot.

By the time I logged on, it was like 11:40 and all that was left was [Mary Lyon] singles … And so I just didn’t sign up for a room because, like, you can’t get worse than ML basement … I just didn’t sign up for housing.”

Lytle later signed up for a housing waitlist and received a single in Parrish.

In terms of difficulties that the Office of Student Engagement has faced while adopting the new portal, Thomas stated that the main challenges have been technology itself and student schedules conflicting with housing lottery times.

“I had a few students who were participating in off-campus study reach out to me in advance of their selection time to inform me that they were having connection difficulties. We also had a few Spring athletes who had athletic commitments at

the time to select their room,” Thomas wrote.

The Housing Advisory Committee plans to review student feedback about the new housing portal over the course of the Fall semester to determine housing portal changes that would benefit all students, such as parking permit applications.

In terms of feedback for the housing portal, Lytle suggested a tool to compare rooms by qualitative and quantitative metrics so that students can thor-

oughly compare living spaces before committing to one room or another.

“I think it would be really cool if they put the square footage … And I also think there should be a tool so you can sort and compare by different metrics. So you can be like, I want a two room window or one room window, I want the room over twenty square feet or under five square feet, you know, just roll up in a closet or something. And other metrics, like, I want AC or no AC …”

Thomas added that the Housing Advisory Committee is also actively accepting feedback, and plans to welcome new members in the near future to determine the fate of housing processes at Swarthmore.

“If students have any suggestions or concerns, I encourage them to reach out to me directly, or to consider that they join the Housing Advisory Committee for this year. I rely on the Housing Advisory Committee to be an im-

portant voice in how housing impacts student life.

SGO will be sending information to the campus community in the coming weeks about becoming a committee member.”

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix

Food Truckathon, continued from A1 us… and then we’ve kind of looked for folks that are new and trendy and what you hear the buzz about,” Litka said, explaining how this word of mouth phenomenon has helped the Truck a Thon grow.

In 2012, the Phoenix published the article “Food Truck a Thon Draws the Hungry and Happy,” reporting on the event’s debut. Writer, Taryn Joy Englehart, emphasized the popularity of the event and how both the CO-OP and the Truck a Thon’s attendants wished to make it “at least an annual, if not

bi-annual occurrence.”

Englehart also reported the CO-OP’s intention of inviting food trucks that pay close attention to their environmental impacts.

“Each truck was selected according to their sustainable business practices.

Despite an eclectic array of cuisines ranging from Korean to Mexican to American, each had in common a commitment to sourcing local ingredients and to reducing their carbon footprints as much as possible.” wrote Englehart. Unfortunately, many students have commented

on the lack of care to sustainability in this year’s event.

“I feel like at Swarthmore, we’re always primed to separate the recyclables from the compost and the trash from the compost and like all of this, but I felt like that aspect was missing in the food truck event,” noted Tolga Attabas ’23.

Some students also expressed concerns on how the food trucks were packaging their food in tin foil and styrofoam.

“There were a lot of things given out in like

styrofoam containers.

Like the corn I got, it was just corn on the cob, but it had tin foil on it. And a paper plate. And that was all probably not necessary.

You definitely could have served it in a more sustainable way,” commented Matthew Anderson ’21.

Nonetheless, the Truck a Thon has grown into one of Swarthmore’s favorite events. It offers a rare chance for people in the community to get together, talk, and share a diverse and delicious range of cuisines.

However, students still

hope to see the event become more sustainable in the future.

“The food is pretty good.

And given how infrequent it is, I think it’s a nice thing to go to and actually see people from the community … But, it would definitely be better if they could be more sustainable.

And I think that if it gets if it continues to get worse, and if they’re looking to expand it in any sort of way, like they might start getting some upset students about the fact that it’s like so unsustainable,” Anderson said.

Students will have another opportunity to enjoy the great food and jovial atmosphere again this spring when the CO-OP will host its second Truck a Thon of the year. Until then, we can all savour our very own vast array of cuisine at Sharples.

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In List Gallery Exhibition, Henry Horenstein Tells A Story of Photographic Forms

Photo courtesy of Henry Horenstein

Philippe Kame Arts Writer

A

t first, nothing predisposed Henry Horenstein to become the photographer that he is today. Originally shooting for a degree in history, a series of unexpected events led him to a BFA and MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design in New England.

Inspired by photographer and professor Harry Callahan, Henry Horenstein saw in photography a way to make every moment historical — and unforgettable.

His work has been exhibited in various locations around the country like the Smith-

sonian’s National Museum of American History, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and now The List Gallery of Swarthmore College. Henry Horenstein invites us to explore the narrative of forms through three series of photographs: “Humans,” “Animalia,” and “Cuba.”

“Humans” is the title of the first series of this exhibit. This series of nudes, taken between 2004 and 2008, contrast the private with the public: photographs of eyelashes are placed next to that of genitals, a pair of eyes juxtaposes the confrontational image of an outstretched

underarm. Some evocative, others suggestive, the perspectives and texture of the photographs instill a sense of wonder. Horenstein chose an analogue camera to produce a shallow depth of field (known as bokeh) using lenses between an f/1 and f/1.2 aperture. The graininess of the pictures is achieved by over-processing them, and printing them on sepia. This perfectly complements the whole mood of the pictures like a cherry atop the cake and produces this desired effect of mindful exploration (those photography aficionados, thank me later for the tip.) During his reception, Horenstein confides that even more “provocative” images had been taken, but were not chosen for the sake of the sensitive souls among us.

On the wall opposite the mesmerizing humanly shapes is a series of haunting animal forms. “Animalia” is the second series of photographs taken by Horenstsien between 1995 and 2001. I am not a particular fan of wildlife photography, but “Animalia” convinces me. The game of light on these black and white photographs are just

the finishing notes on what has already been achieved by the muses. Just have a look at “Cownose Ray,” the perfect captured symmetry and the dark background makes the animal appear to float in anything but water — worthy of a Vogue cover — Animalia edition. The veiled light contrasts their silhouette, creating a sense of mystery but also brings serenity to the whole scene.

His ability to capture the image of constantly moving subjects and make them appear peaceful and otherworldly once more proves Horenstein’s mastery over his craft.

Shot in the year 2000, “Cuba” is the last series in the exhibit. Here, Horenstein approaches his subject matters in a different way. Cuba is already a famously colourful country — his goal, therefore, was to capture that colorful energy in still, black-andwhite images. Horenstein’s signature monochromatic photographs are filled with more light this time, revealing the facial and bodily expressions of the subjects.

Just look at “The Boy on the BasketBall Court”, or “The Girls on the Walls,” and

the “Kids Watching Boxing Match,” all of which revel in their simplicity and enigma.

Their captivated gaze and their seemingly busy postures captivate us in return and make us want to engage with them. Finally, the cast shadows on the bodies of the subjects complement the monochrome style.

They add more contrast and

tonality, thus giving this vintage look to the photographs.

Whether it is the intimacy of the human body up close, the shape-shifting authenticity of the fauna, or the zest of human interactions, Henry Horenstein just like a historian, immortalising the moment.

Photo courtesy of Henry Horenstein

“I BEEN BORN AGAIN”: Brockhampton comes back strong with “GINGER” Max Gruber Arts Writer

“When somebody throws you in the fire/ How do you survive?” asks Dom Mclennon on Brockhampton’s newest album, “GINGER.” Since the departure of former bandmember Ameer Vann amidst allegations of sexual assault, the Los Angeles-based collective and self-proclaimed boyband Brockhampton have publicly wrestled with the implications of this question. Many fans thought their follow-up to 2017’s SATURATION trilogy of albums, “Iridescence,” would hold the answers.

While the album presented a number of bright ideas and compelling moments, many tracks felt confused, cluttered, or else just lacked the infectious pull of the SATURATION records. After a year-long hiatus, seemingly a lifetime for the group that released three albums in seven months, Brockhampton is back with “GINGER,” an album that doles out catchy tunes and poignant meditations on friendship and betrayal in equal proportion. On this most recent

effort, the group integrates new production decisions far more successfully than on “Iridescence” while retaining the quirky and playful elements that brought the group so much acclaim on “SATURATION.” Brockhampton is back.

The album opens with the track “NO HALO,” easily one of the group’s most popfriendly cuts to date. Guest vocalist Dev Never delivers an ethereal hook over a mellow instrumental washed in acoustic guitar. Merlin turns in one of his standout performances here, as subtle effects color a rare, sung vocal performance. “SUGAR” is a sun-drenched, lovesick song with an earworm hook from the increasingly frequent Brockhampton contributor Ryan Beatty. The sweet guitar chords are complemented

by Bearface’s refrain “Love you right.” Despite the lyrical repetition, the vocals are layered differently throughout, producing a choral effect that prevents the refrain from growing stale.

After just the first two songs, it is clear that Brockhampton are far more comfortable integrating some of

the newer, high-gloss, and high-budget sounds into their music than they were on “Iridescence.” The track “GINGER” is another shining example of this, featuring a beat which is equal parts melancholic and danceable.

The synths and percussion, combined with Kevin Abstract’s subdued and moody hook, make “GINGER” unlike any other Brockhampton track to date. Matt Champion shines on the first verse as serene vocal harmonies float in and out of the mix.

Just when the instrumentals seem at the point of fading away, Bearface surfaces and contributes a chorus of distorted vocals that provide an excellent compliment to the instrumental’s melody.

Tracks like “BOY BYE” are typical Brockhampton, as Dom Mclennon delivers a playfulverse over zany plucked strings. “ST. PERCY” is a nice change of pace from the dreamier pop tunes, as distorted bass and extraterrestrial sound effects offer one of the album’s grittier moments, especially when Merlin joins the track with repeated exclamations of, continued on page A6

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THE PHOENIX ARTS

Artist of the Week Grace Dumdaw on Her Many Expressions of Art

Grace Dumdaw, Class of 2021.

The arts section is delighted to introduce a new column, “Artist of the Week,” which will cover a new student every week for their work in visual art, music, theater, dance, writing, or any range of creative endeavors. Contact us if you would like to be featured or to nominate a friend.

Veronica Yabloko Arts Writer Whether you know her as a singer in the a cappella group Offbeat, an actor in campus productions, or a photographer with a growing portfolio, you’re sure to know her as an artist through and through.

Styling neon sunglasses, layered gold rings, and a bright smile, Grace Dumdaw ’21 sat down to discuss her journey as a performer and visual artist here on campus.

Dumdaw’s journey as a performer began the mo-

ment she could get on stage.

Whether she was acting in musicals or playing in the orchestra, Dumdaw became accustomed to performing early in her life.

“I think my mom was always a stage mom,” Dumdaw explained. “So I was on stages as a really young child, play[ing] piano, violin, and guitar growing up.”

Though her parents pushed her to pursue music, Dumdaw always found herself more drawn to film, theater, and comedy. Dumdaw has maintained that interest, and is currently a major in the Theater Department hoping to pursue a career in entertainment.

“I’ve always loved acting, and would always do it, but my parents never really supported that,” Dumdaw recalled. “It was always something I’d talked about but they never took seriously until they were like ‘oh she’s not dropping this.’”

When it comes to creative inspiration, Dumdaw draws from others within the acting community. Observing both professionals and her own peers, Dumdaw finds that learning from others inspires her most.

“I’m really into film, and I analyze films all the time.

I watch as many as I can; I watch the acting, and I try to verse myself with as many actors as I can. [I like] to see how they’re executing their training and then going and researching their processes and how they get into character. I do it in real life too, talking to people who are also in the theatre major and just performing on campus.

Getting to know what their processes are is really interesting because we all do it so differently.”

Though Dumdaw’s main focus is theater, she also expresses herself musically and visually. Dumdaw enjoys having other outlets to express her creativity, which include singing with Offbeat and taking photographs in her free time.

“I’m in an a cappella group and that’s kind of like my one musical outlet that I would say I consistently enjoy,” Dumdaw said. “I [also] got into photography in high school because my parents had this tiny point and shoot camera that they weren’t using. I just took it and played around with it and realized I had an eye for it.”

Dumdaw particularly enjoys portraiture and street photography, though she wouldn’t limit herself to any one kind of photography.

“I definitely lean more towards portraiture, just because I think I enjoy making people look good and feel good. Reminding people that there is beauty to them when they forget. But I [also] enjoy street photography. It’s all over the place - if I see something that I like, I’ll take a picture of it.”

Dumdaw struggled to pinpoint exactly where her inspiration comes from, explaining that her ideas often come to her spontaneously.

“I can’t ever pin down what inspires me because it comes out of nowhere. I’ll just be thinking of something, like a shoot that I want to do, and I keep brainstorming until suddenly I know what I want it to look like, I know exactly how I can get those materials, and then I attach myself to it and keeps coming into my head. If I don’t do it I’ll drive myself crazy!”

Despite her interests in music and photography, Dumdaw emphasized that her true passion is theater.

“I think people identify me a lot with photography even though I don’t really care for it as much [as theatre],” she

explained. “Mostly theatre [makes up my identity], and I’m not actively trying to find more musical opportunities.”

Dumdaw can’t imagine her life without theater, expressing that without theater she would struggle emotionally.

“Because I love theater, I love comedy, if I don’t do it I will get into this depression.

Last year was the worst year of my life because I wasn’t doing any theater,” Dumdaw added. “I was overcommitted to musical things, and I think that my identity to a lot of people on campus became music. I started feeling like people didn’t really understand what I was interested in, and that was tough.”

As far as her goals for the future, Dumdaw continues to strive for a career in entertainment.

“The path to going into entertainment, which is what I’ve always wanted to do, is really clear now, and it’s really new and exciting because I’m one step closer to that goal.”

(Grace will be performing cabaret style musical theatre at NPPR Tiny Desk on November 8th. You can also see her on October 26th-28th in the Drama Board play Bedroom Scene)

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THE PHOENIX ARTS

Brockhampton, continued from A4 “Murder man, murder man.”

While certainly one of the more energetic moments on the record, “ST. PERCY” is ultimately light and retains the goofy aspect of Brockhampton’s playful cuts. Just as the group have rekindled their whimsy and charm, they are as earnest and introspective as ever. “DEARLY DEPARTED” acts as the emotional fulcrum of the album and an especially poignant moment of catharsis and self-examination for the band. Kevin and Matt both deliver melancholic verses about neglect, friendship, and vulner-

ability, but the track’s coup de grace is Dom Mclennon’s verse. Here, his delivery is raw and passionate, as he confronts the now dismissed member of Brockhampton, Ameer Vann, saying, “Pass the weight off to your friends and never face the truth/ Because you never learned how to be a man/ And it’s not my fault, and it’s not my problem anymore/ That’s just where you stand/ That’s just who you are/ That’s your cross to bear.” While the tracks leading up to this moment were a welcome return to form, “DEARLY DEPARTED” feels

like the band performing a self-exorcism, as the track ends with the sounds of a falling microphone and broken headphones. The magnitude of the song’s subject matter is matched by the sound of Bearface’s signature, melodramatic electric guitar flourishes echoing and refracting across the cavernous mix.

The album’s second half, however, presents some minor hiccups, first with the song “I BEEN BORN AGAIN.” While the track sports a bouncy instrumental, it suffers from a lack of song

structure or coherent direction. Matt Champion’s refrain at the end would have served as an excellent hook, but its immediacy is wasted as a footnote in the track’s closing moments. The track “BIG BOY” presents a pouty, moaning hook from Kevin which is closer to irritating than experimental. Fortunately, the album regains focus on the last two tracks.

“LOVE ME FOR LIFE” begins with a relatively conventional beat, but the crescendo of glossy harps and what sounds like a kazoo make the track’s closing moments

an instrumental highlight on the record.

After a confused, if earnest, effort on “Iridescence,” it was unclear how Brockhampton would respond, if at all. Fortunately, “GINGER” is the product of a group with newly endowed confidence, maturity, and an even deeper array of sounds and production techniques to match.

“GINGER” isn’t a perfect album, but it deserves to stand alongside the “SATURATION” records as one of the group’s best. Longtime fans will find plenty to love in tracks like “ST. PERCY” and

“BOY BYE” while those for whom the band never quite clicked may enjoy tracks such as “NO HALO” and “GINGER.” Presenting an experience which is equal parts tragic and carefree, Brockhampton’s “GINGER” marks a new era and a promising step forward for America’s favorite boy band.

Wang states in an interview: “I always felt the divide in my relationship to my family versus my relationship to my classmates and to my colleagues and to the world that I inhabit.

That’s just the nature of being an immigrant and

straddling two cultures.”

From notable films exploring biculturalism — The Wedding Banquet (1993), Saving Face (2004), all the way to The Farewell — it is exciting to see the increasing appearance of works discussing this theme. It

might also, however, be the time to get over the “what to show,” and move over to the “how to show.”

To Lie or Not to Lie Carrie Jiang & Rubing Zhang Arts Writers

If there isn’t much time left for the one you love, would you let them know?

For some, an unhesitant “yes” seems to be the answer, yet the opposite may be the choice for people from a different culture.

Based on a true story of the director’s life, “The Farewell” (2019, Lulu Wang) explores this moral dilemma through Billi (Awkwafina), a first-generation Chinese American, who disagrees with everybody else in her family on whether or not to lie to her grandmother who was diagnosed with cancer. The conflict builds up to a climax when a wedding is made up as an excuse for everyone to return home for the old lady. Being constantly hidden from her true health conditions, grandma remains the only one who keeps a light mood throughout the film.

To lie or not to lie, that’s the question — the film cleverly depicts the tension generated from cultural differences between the family members. The dramatic irony also adds a sense of comedy to the story. Similarly, tensions regarding different cultural expectations plague the film’s production process.

While American producers objected to the all-Asian cast and insisted on adding prominent white characters, Chinese financiers thought the story was too American. In another attempt to draw attention to the project, Wang chose to adapt the story into a segment of an episode in the public radio storytelling program “This American Life” in April 22, 2016. Fortunately, the effort finally paid off. The radio program successfully intrigued the filmmaker Chris Weitz, who later stepped in to produce the film as well as procuring other financing for the project.

As the winner of the Au-

dience Award at the 2019 Sundance London Film Festival, The Farewell was sold for more than twice its budget for its worldwide distribution rights. The film has earned about five times its budget at the box office, which makes it both an artistic and a financial success. Yet interpreting it from a Chinese international student’s perspective, we found it hard to agree with the mainstream celebration of “The Farewell” in terms of content, cinematography and symbolization.

When it comes to precisely showing cultural conflict and the characters’ awareness of cultural difference, Wang could have trusted the audience more: show, don’t tell. Wang’s attempt to show cultural conflicts is clear — Billi grew up in New York and mostly speaks English to her parents, yet her grandma can’t understand the language at all. The film is set in Changchun — a northern city far from being international, and thus the setting exacerbates the cultural and linguistic differences between the three generations. The cultural clash in this case is already deeply rooted in their daily interactions, ways of living, and ideology. However, the more subtle, lived-in details of culture clash do not extend beyond direct exposition: Wang did not embed and translate these elements into specific character habits or interactions, but instead chose to show them explicitly through repetitive lines: “We are Chinese. They are Americans. We are different.” Lines like these are reemphasized over and over just to hammer the message home. Yet even if the American audience leave the movie theater with the deepest impression of how different the two cultures are, how many of them truly understand why specifically do those differences exist?

In terms of cinematography, Wang seems to favor the usage of slow-motion shots to portray the characters’ emotional expression, but this technique is sometimes misused or used inconsistently and thus it may confuse the viewers.

Most of the movie is shot with normal-paced camera movement and cutting. In one scene, however, where all the family members except grandma solemnly walk towards the camera while the sign of the hospital flashes in the background, the usage of slowmotion technically does underscore the heaviness of the lie within everyone’s mind, yet the dramatization seems to be jarringly overdone and inconsistent with the artistic style in other parts of the film. The inconsistency of camera language can also be seen with Wang’s choice of using a sparrow as a symbol for mental state within the film. At the very beginning, when the story still takes place in New York, we see a sparrow coming from nowhere appear in Billi’s room. When the film is halfway through, we see another sparrow in Billi’s hotel room in Changchun. To explain the meaning of bird symbolization, Wang states in an interview that the coincidence and the outof-body experience lead to a connection of these two countries that are across the world from each other.

This connection is meant to be more metaphysical, something we don’t see and something we cannot control. Meaningful as it is, the mere two shots of sparrows within the 138-minute film seem out of place during the viewing process, and they also make people wonder that if there were more repetitions of sparrows in other important timings, the entire metaphysical interpretation might be clearer.

Cultural differences and clashes are themes worth exploring continuously. As

OPINIONS

PAGE A7

Strike for the Climate, Strike for our Lives Daniel Fernandez Op-Ed Contributor

T

he climate crisis presents the greatest threat to humanity. It has already wrought unprecedented devastation, but the worst is yet to come. We cannot sit by as the world burns and floods. We must demand that our government recognize that the climate is in crisis. We must disrupt our society before climate change disrupts it for good.

On Friday, Sept. 20, millions of people around the world will strike and protest to demand action. The Swarthmore community must stand with them.

Earlier this year, acclaimed children’s science educator Bill Nye went on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight show to demonstrate the threat of the climate crisis.

Taking a torch to a globe, he said that “the planet is on fucking fire.”

He was right, but his caustic statement also left out many of the other horrors wrought by the climate crisis. The planet is on fire; it is also overheating, flooding, drying up, and reeling from an endless torrent of natural disasters.

Wildfires in America burn twice as much land as they did in 1970, and wildfire season has gotten so long that the California wildfire captain said, “we don’t even call it fire season anymore. Take the ‘season’ out - it’s yearround.”

Heat waves happen fifty times as often as they did in 1980 and last 45 days longer than they did in the 1960s. As a result, “extreme heat now causes more deaths in U.S. cities than all other weather events combined,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Flooding has quadrupled and extreme storms have doubled since 1980, but even normal storms have become more frequent and destructive. Since the 1980s, the number of power outages from rainstorms have increased tenfold, and the amount of damages have increased sevenfold.

At the same time that rain and floods drown parts

of the planet, drought dries other parts up. Two-thirds of all people live in places that face water shortages “at least once a month each year,” writes author David WallaceWells in his book, The Uninhabitable Earth. “Half a billion are in places where the shortages never end.”

Extreme weather events, like Hurricane Dorian, have already displaced 7 million people in 2019 and could displace 22 million by the end of the year, according to The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Harrowing statistics like those lead Wallace-Wells to write, “the earth’s ecosystem will boil with so many natural disasters that we will just start calling them ‘weather.’”

These facts should scare you. They scare me. They can also numb you. The climate crisis can seem distant and disconnected from our lives, separated from us by geography and time. The worst has not come, and the worst will not be felt in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, but in the Global South. The humanitarian organization DARA estimates that more than 98% of climate-related deaths in the next century will occur in developing nations. This cruel inequality may give us privileged few a perverse sense of relief, but it really lures us into a false sense of security. The climate crisis will fundamentally disrupt all of our lives.

My hometown, New York City, has spent the last seven years slowly recovering from Hurricane Sandy, the second-costliest weather disaster in American history.

Eight million people lost power and 650,000 lost their homes, some of whom were my neighbors, teachers, and friends.

Hurricanes as deadly as Sandy will hit New York seventeen times more often by the end of the century. Those natural disasters, along with sea level rise, may put parts of the city underwater. National icons like The Statue of Liberty, centers of global finance, like Wall Street, and places with immense personal significance to me, like the high school from which I graduated, are all at risk.

Every year, I visit my of warming sounds, it simply grandparents in Santa Mon- does not compare to the sufica, a beautiful coastal city fering that four and a half dein Los Angeles. I have fond grees of warming will bring. memories of playing with toy Mark Lynas, author of Six soldiers in their house, fly- Degrees, writes, “it is difficult ing kites and throwing fris- to avoid the conclusion that bees at the beach, and hiking mass starvation will be a perthrough the Santa Monica manent danger for much of mountains. By the end of the the human race in the fourcentury, the mountains will degree world.” remain, but the beaches will He doesn’t stop there. At not, nor will my grandpar- the apocalyptic six degrees ents’ house. of warming, Lynas struggles To truly grasp the signifi- to contemplate how, “with cance of the climate crisis, all the remaining forests we must reflect, not just on burning, and the corpses of the statistics, but also on people, livestock and wildthe ways in which it will in- life piling up on every contitimately affect our lives and nent,” humanity could avoid the lives of the people we extinction. If this didn’t love. frighten you enough, the The climate crisis should worst-case estimates of the scare you, but it should not UN’s climate models don’t dishearten you. Three things project six degrees of warmshould inspire you that hope ing. They project eight. is not lost, and that we have Second, our generation a great opportunity to do has the power to stop the good. worst of the criFirst, we can sis. still stop the “The climate criWe have been worst of the crichanging the sis should scare climate since sis.

Some peo- you, but it should the Industrial ple may not Revolution, but take comfort not dishearten we have actualin that stately done most of you.” ment because the damage in they may see the recent past. climate change as inevitable. According to Wallace-Wells, While the climate is always more than half of all carbon changing, and humans have emissions have come in the warmed the earth enough for past three decades, the lifesome unstoppable processes time of just one generation. to start, the degree of change If the previous generation matters most. The United had the power to bring the Nations Intergovernmental planet “to the brink of cliPanel on Climate Change mate catastrophe,” as Walfound that the earth has al- lace-Wells writes, the next ready warmed by one degree one has the power to bring it Celsius since the industrial back. “We all also know that revolution, and will warm to second lifetime. It is ours.” about four and a half degrees Our generation already Celsius by 2100. Even drastic has many of the tools and cuts in emissions would not solutions needed to address stop all further warming, but the crisis. Initiatives like the the UN estimates that such Green New Deal take the actions could limit warm- right approach. It treats cliing to one and a half degrees mate change as a systemic Celsius. crisis that demands a sysThese numbers seem tematic response. It protrivial, but each degree Cel- poses that the government sius means the difference combat the climate crisis in between life and death for all areas of society, while also billions of people. Right now, ensuring that the country at one degree of warming, air can smoothly and equitably pollution alone kills seven transition away from fossil million people each year; if fuels. the earth warmed to just two The Green New Deal isn’t degrees, it would kill more perfect – it isn’t even a polthan 150 million people. icy yet – but it represents As horrific as two degrees the kind of big steps that

CORRECTIONS The 9/12 editorial was edited by the Editorial Board on 9/16 to better reflect our position and remove potentially triggering content. We thank members of campus for their grace and kindness in giving us feedback.

PHOENIX

THE

w

Laura Wagner, Editor-in-Chief Katie Pruitt, Managing Editor Naomi Park, Managing Editor NEWS Bess Markel, Editor Trina Paul, Editor ARTS Nicole Liu, Editor Rachel Lapides, Editor CAMPUS JOURNAL Clio Hamilton, Editor Dylan Clairmont, Editor OPINIONS Laura Wilcox, Editor SPORTS Joe Barile, Editor Neel Gupta, Editor

we must take. And both the public and a growing number of politicians support these kinds of ambitious moves.

60% of registered voters support the Green New Deal, as do nearly 100 congressional Democrats, and all major Democratic presidential candidates.

Third, we must treat the climate crisis like a crisis if we want to stop it. As Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything, writes, “slavery wasn’t a crisis for British and American elites until abolitionists turned it into one. Racial discrimination wasn’t a crisis until the civil rights movement turned it into one. Sex discrimination wasn’t a crisis until feminism turned it into one. Apartheid wasn’t a crisis until the antiapartheid movement turned it into one.” Our political and economic system contributed to and ignored those crises then, as they do to the climate crisis now.

However, the tides are turning. Mass movements, like the Sunrise Movement, have spoken truth to power and brought the climate crisis to the forefront of the political agenda. According to the Pew Research Center, “compared with a decade ago, more Americans today say protecting the environment and dealing with global climate change should be top priorities for the president and Congress.” In 2016, no presidential debate more than touched on the climate crisis. In 2019, every Democratic debate so far has involved climate issues, and CNN devoted an entire town

PHOTOGRAPHY Isabelle Titcomb, Editor LAYOUT Catherine Zhao, Chief Editor COPY Anatole Shukla, Chief Editor BUSINESS Emma Chiao, Manager SOCIAL MEDIA Abby Diebold, Editor DIGITAL OPERATIONS Bayliss Wagner Daniel Chaiken EMERITUS Shreya Chattopadhyay

hall to the climate crisis.

We have made much progress, but the fight must continue.

On Friday, Sept. 20, millions of people around the world will strike. People will skip work and school in 117 countries. They will disrupt society to show how the climate crisis has already disrupted society. They will demand action that treats the crisis as a crisis. They will strike in Washington, D.C., and in Accra, and in Tel Aviv, and in Paris, and in Swarthmore.

At 10 a.m., members of the Swarthmore community will demonstrate on Parrish Beach. At 11 a.m., they will strike at City Hall in Philadelphia (Sunrise Swarthmore will cover train tickets for protestors that fill out a short waiver at the Lang Center).

At 2 p.m., they will return to Swarthmore for further discussions about the climate crisis.

We must fight the climate crisis like our lives depend on it, because they do. This Friday, fight, and strike.

Find more information and sign up to strike at bit.ly/ swarthmorestrike.

THE PHOENIX OPINIONS

PAGE A8

Water Bears Should Be a Model for Mental Health Dvita Kapadia Op-Ed Contributor Often when we talk about mental health, the conversation seems to veer toward mental illness.

The main way many of us know how to talk about mental health is by talking about what it is not.

The focus lies so deeply on mental illnesses that we often define our mental state in terms of mental illness: “not depressed” or “not anxious.” Consequently, everyday emotions seem less important than the problems of those who have depression, anxiety, or PTSD, and you forget that you are worthy of taking care of your mental health. We shouldn’t just define mental health in terms of mental illness, but rather, in terms of selfcare. You can take care of your physical health in many ways, including working out, eating well, resting, or being in nature, and you can do the same with your mental health: provide your body the fuel it needs to function at its best.

Mental health is com-

plicated to define because different behaviors may be a sign of crisis in different people. We all hold up the pretense to be eternally happy like we’re winning at life and on top of this world. I do it, too!

When people ask me how I’m doing, I instantly reply, “Great!” even if I’m having a bad day. As long as you’re taking care of yourself, you are winning at life. And over the next few weeks, I’m going to help you by providing my experiences, sharing the methods I use to improve my mental health, and reminding you that you are worthy of taking care of your mental health.

In truth, however, it is not possible to be completely happy all the time.

In fact, it can even be detrimental to your mental health. Mental health is complicated and hard to navigate. It’s not easy to know whether you’re on a good path, how to better your mental health, or how to reach out for help. Let me try to make you a map to the windy labyrinth of mental health.

In our highly technolo-

gized world, it is hard for us to take a moment to ourselves and with our bodies. Being able to recognize our feelings, how our bodies react to those feelings and how we deal with those feelings is a sign of a good mental health. This is hard to do because we are so busy scrolling through our Etsy cart or sending our friends relatable memes. Thankfully, there are apps that can help us check in with ourselves. I use Moodpath.

It reminds me to check in with my body, mind, and emotions three times a day by asking me a series of mental health-related questions and to fill in my mood and events that have recently occurred. This allows me to take a quick second for myself. If apps are not for you, you can do a simple exercise where you close your eyes just for a second and do a quick body scan. Notice all the points of tension in your body and how you feel.

Checking in with yourself and relating to your emotions is a way to make sure you are doing well.

No emotion is eter-

nal. When we feel sad, we push our feelings away to force ourselves to be happy. An essential aspect of maintaining good mental health is to remember that nothing is permanent, which may seem impossible. It’s not impossible, but it is hard. Over the next few weeks, I will be introducing you to different kinds of therapy. The first is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT teaches that the integral part of letting yourself feel is to differentiate facts from feelings. A fact is something that happened, that for which have physical evidence. A feeling is an indicator that one of your needs is not being met.

Deciphering whether your experience is a feeling (she hates me because she left me on read) versus a fact (she is busy right now and can’t text me back) helps us to analyze our situation and understand that, while we may feel icky right now, our feelings will change and they are not deeply rooted in a fact.

The most resilient animals on Earth are water bears, a microscopic tar-

digrade that can survive in the hottest volcanoes, coldest glaciers and even space! When I think about mental health, I often think about water bears, not only because I find them incredibly adorable, but also because they display resilience, an important part of maintaining good mental health.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is another type of therapy. According to DBT, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity. It means “bouncing back.” It’s not about “survival,” it’s about adaptation. Now, I don’t expect you to be able to physically adapt to the depths of a roaring volcano, but I am confident that with the right tools, you will be able to adapt to any situation that is thrown at you, whether that means picking yourself up, letting yourself cry or asking for help. Resilience is used most in times where you are having a bad mental health moment, however, it indicates that you have the skills to improve your mental health. Taking care of your mental health

42. E coast hike 43. Library book date 44. Big container 46. Nov. holiday 47. Director Ashby 48. Sealing tape 50.

53. Vibe of upperclassmen 54. Mythological bird 53. Site of an appendectomy, for short 57. Person working outside of the motherland 58. Not AM 59. 1-across is in charge of these or the starred clues

Across 1. Amy Winehouse hit 7. Swattie Couch or a Jewish Queen 12. Many serpentine fish 13. They pull wagons 15. Can make knots with it 16. __A, guns rights grp.

17. Listlessness 19. Microscopic cell hairs 20. One twin to Doja Cat 22. Swarthmore is an elite one 24. Primary color

25. Father of hot dogs* 26. Fulbright classroom 28. Asparagine, for short 30. Van Gogh cut his 31. Not predator 32. Tech-y major 34. Young angst?

36. Place to say “I do” 38. Turner or Tiny 40. Powerball winner 41. This is the first of 54-across

Down 1. Left or right, in the heart 2. Underwear brand 3. Mr. Cool J 4. Wind dir.

5. Charged particle 6. Type of philosophy or crisis 7. In or on, sp.

9. The Musketeers are one 10. Shout 11. Anaphylaxis pen 12. “Actually?!”

14. Communion 18. “Get thee to a nunnery _____” 19. A negative 21. Pertaining to accessibility, for short 23. Several of the word meaning forbidden in Islam 27. “Bye” 29. It may be high or in the ground 33. Muck or slime 35. Way eyeballs were removed 37. Sch. In Fort Worth 39. Constituents of Wharton

means developing skills to use when you do have moments of sadness or anger or frustration. Resilience does not mean to just keep going, it means to adapt to your situation and take care of yourself while relying on your resources.

An important aspect of relying on your resources is to ask for help. Asking for help is hard because some believe it shows weakness, but it is the best indicator of a healthy person. It shows strength to admit that you are not able to do everything and it shows courage to ask for help. You should ask for help when you first feel you need to outsource your emotions. Asking for help can be talking to a friend, your parents, a professor, or C.A.P.S. Ask for help. You are worth it. You are worth being healthy.

You are worth taking care of yourself.

Courtyard 44. Metal rooster atop a house 45. Senile 46. Not false 47. Carl Hiaasen book 48. Government money 49. Festival 51. Facebook or Spotify 52. Has condoms on their door, for short* 53. Athletic person?* 55. “Ok” txt 56. Not off

THE PHOENIX OPINIONS

PAGE A9

The Journey from Penis Envy and Lab Sex to Female Viagra Maya Smith Op-Ed Contributor

From the Oedipal complex to penis envy, the origin of psychology is tied to the study of sexuality.

This makes sense; if psychology ignored the way sexuality affected people, it would be unable to understand the basics of the human psyche. Sexual theory only becomes a problem when people conflate psychology with morality.

Moralistic ideas of proper sexuality were included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Homosexuality, hysteria and frigidity were all in the first edition of the DSM. While these exact disorders aren’t in the most recent DSM, the standards of morality and sexuality established in the Victorian Age remain.

These historic biases must be acknowledged if psychology wants to properly diagnose and help patients.

Scientists have attempted to eliminate moral bias in psychology, but even the most thorough research has reinforced ideas of sexual norms. Beginning in 1957, William Masters and Virginia Johnson observed heterosexual cou-

ples having sex in their lab.

Their research was radical for the time, especially for its acknowledgment of female sexual pleasure.

Unfortunately, the biological model Masters and Johnson established relied on traditional ideas of sexuality. Sex was defined only as intercourse, which meant women who didn’t enjoy penetrative sex were — and are — viewed as having a dysfunction. This legitimized disorders like frigidity, which remained in future editions of the DSM, though the name and criteria of the disorder have changed. These norms have perpetuated fundamental misunderstandings about female sexuality which shape the pharmaceutical industry and diagnoses today.

When pharmaceutical companies began producing drugs for sexual dysfunctions, historical biases influenced what disorders they researched. According to historic standards of sexuality, intercourse is the necessary conclusion of sex. The first sexual dysfunction drug, Viagra, addressed an inability to have intercourse. After the success of Viagra, pharmaceutical companies hoped to find similar

profitability in the female market, so the race began for a “female Viagra.” The majority-male researchers were looking for a disorder that would prevent a woman from having sexual intercourse. Most physical disorders prevent women from experiencing pleasure or cause pain, but they don’t prevent intercourse, so the severity of these disorders were devalued.

Researchers decided that the female equivalent was Female Sexual Dysfunction, the descendent of frigidity. FSD decreased the likelihood of sexual intercourse which gave it more historical legitimacy for the pharmaceutical industry. Researchers had decided which disorder to treat, but they struggled to find a biological solution to female sexual dysfunction.

Over a decade later, Sprout Pharmaceuticals announced they had solved the complexity of female sexuality with their new drug Addyi. Addyi was designed to treat Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, the diagnostic descendent of frigidity and FSD. HSDD is a real problem: many women don’t desire penetrative sex and are distressed by this lack of

desire. The medical profession should look at underlying causes of the lack of desire and distress. There are reasons why women wouldn’t desire sex, many of which stem from historical biases. Media and slut-shaming tell women that sex and desire are immoral. Other women have had bad experiences with sex, often because of an overemphasis on penetrative sex and ignorance of female pleasure. If women are having unfulfilling sex, it’s unsurprising that they wouldn’t desire sex.

Beyond the ignorance of the actual causes of HSDD, Sprout Pharmaceuticals assumed that a lack of sexual desire is negative. This stems from the mistaken idea that women owe sex to their partners. Instead of being able to own their desire, women are being told that a lack of desire is something that needs to be fixed. This can cause the distress that defines HSDD. This distress and the causes that underlie it should be addressed, but should not be treated by pharmaceuticals.

After Addyi was rejected twice by the FDA, Sprout Pharmaceutical decided to manipulate women’s anger about medical in-

justices. Sprout Pharmaceuticals built a marketing campaign around the feminism of “female Viagra” called “Even the Score,” which demanded that the FDA approve medication for female sexual dysfunctions. “Even the Score” never acknowledged the fundamental differences between Viagra, which lets men act on their desires, and Addyi, which increases desire. Pretending that HSDD was a new and purely physical disorder also allowed Sprout Pharmaceuticals to conceal the biased history of HSDD from members of Even the Score. Many groups, including Jewish Women International, The American College of Nurse Midwives, The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, and The Black Women’s Health Imperative joined “Even the Score.” When the advisory committee for Addyi met, the room was packed with activists, doctors and women with HSDD all showing their support for Addyi. The crowd would cheer and clap when supporters took the stage.

Several speakers tried to raise concerns about the efficacy of Addyi and its side effects but the crowd

On The Need for Greater Food Options EDITORIAL

Over the past year, students have adjusted to changes in dining services at Swarthmore. At the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic year, Dining Services changed the hours of Essie Mae’s to close on weekends and at 9 p.m. on weeknights. At the same time, the student-run cafe was moved from Paces to Sharples and renamed.

Students immediately indicated their unhappiness with these changes: a petition garnered over 450 signatures, prompting Dining Services to close Essie’s at 10:30 p.m. on weeknights instead. The Science Center Coffee Bar hours were also extended during this dining transition. However, there are still few sufficient on-campus meal options when Sharples is closed.

Meanwhile, Crumb is open every day until midnight and is the only sitdown place to eat food on campus on the weekends after Sharples closes at 7 p.m. The Crumb has absorbed most of the business that would have otherwise gone to Essie’s. On

Sunday nights after 10 p.m., when Essie’s and the Sci Center Coffee Bar are both closed, the Crumb is the only food option on campus. The Crumb is student-managed and student-run, so student workers must cope with sometimes overwhelming lines and more orders than their space is equipped to handle.

We at The Phoenix believe that the college should work to expand food options on campus, as well as make sure no dining areas are overrun with students. Dining services staff work extremely hard to feed students, and we appreciate their work.

The shortening of Essie’s hours affected many staff members’ hours. It is essential that the college incorporates Dining Services staff’s opinions and needs into future dining options planning. It is also important to make sure the Crumb is not an intensely stressed work environment for students.

Expanding the dining options must take into account the needs of both Crumb staff and dining

services staff. Widening late-night food options requires top-down change.

For many students, meal options after Sharples closes are essential. Students with commitments during those times, such as athletes, student workers, and students with evening classes may not be able to get to Sharples before it closes at 8 p.m. on weekdays or at 7 p.m. on weekends. The on-campus options when Sharples is closed are limited to the Crumb Café, Essie’s, and the Sci Center Coffee Bar. These options have variety, but do not necessarily offer complete meals that students sometimes need after hours. While the Sci Center Coffee Bar offers meals at lunch, they may not have any sushi or Chinese food left by dinnertime, leaving students to construct a meal from snack foods such as yogurt and muffins. These “meals” must be paid for with points rather than meal swipes, a restriction which makes them less accessible to first-years and others on swipe-heavy meal plans. Furthermore,

Crumb also does not serve full meals and students likewise often have to order multiple items to get enough food. On the weekends, particularly, it can be difficult to get a meal after 7 p.m.

We recognize that the college is currently work-

ing to remodel and expand Sharples, and hope that said changes will allow for more late-night meal options. Current students, however, cannot wait for years to have reliable access to on-campus meals after-hours; neither should the Crumb be

hissed and booed. On Aug. 18, 2015, the FDA approved Addyi.

After the approval, backlash began when people realized that Addyi was designed to regulate female desire, not treat a physical inability.

This was exacerbated by the increasing awareness that Sprout Pharmaceuticals had started “Even the Score.”

Pharmaceutical companies had seen the anger of women who had been systematically ignored, misunderstood and dismissed for generations.

Instead of addressing their concerns or the historical biases in medicine, Sprout Pharmaceuticals manipulated this anger to force a drug through the FDA that perpetuates misconceptions about female sexuality.

expected to solely shoulder the burden of feeding students on weekend nights, nor should Essie’s staff have to cope with shortened hours. The college should prioritize latenight meal options now, for the sake of everyone on campus.

Emma Chiao / The Phoenix

SPORTS

PAGE A10

Field Hockey’s Youth Primed for a Breakout Season Ally Scheve Sports Writer

S

warthmore Field Hockey looks to capitalize this season on the youth of their team and the return of key impact players.

The team welcomed seven first years to the roster and are excited to build on their new talent.

Last season, Swarthmore Field Hockey scored 26 goals, six of which were netted by forward Marion Carr ’22. Out of the top five point earners in the 2018 season, three of the players return to the team, including Carr ’22, Samie Martin ’21 and Samantha Meacock ’22.

Carr is excited by the prospects of a young team but emphasizes the importance of continued growth throughout the fall.

“As a very young team, we are hoping to keep improving and developing as a group,” said Carr. “We also want to maintain a positive attitude and outlook.”

Coach Hannah Harris echoed Carr’s belief that positivity and a growth mindset will serve the team well in the season to come.

“I’m most excited to see each of the players grow in their roles and watch them

develop as leaders and veterans of the program,” said Harris. “We have no seniors on the team, which is requiring our underclassmen to step up into an upperclassman role.”

While having no seniors may appear as a disadvantage, Harris sees an opportunity for a tight knit group to form this season. “Our team is made up of half first years and half returners, and because we are a small squad, they have developed a friendship that feels like family,” said Harris.

Chelsea Semper ’21 and Martin ’21 have stepped into the leading role of captains and hope to foster a vibrant team culture that will help the team reach its collective goals.

“I think the most important goal for our team is maintaining our positive team culture and creating an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and included,” said Semper ’21.

Semper ’21 recognizes the importance of helping the first years adjust to college field hockey.

“There is a lot to learn when you adjust to playing in college from high school, so I have really tried to focus

Photo courtesy of Swarthmore College Athletics

on patience and communication in practices and games and giving my younger players individual advice on how they can improve.” said Semper ’21. “I have tried my best to lead by example, whether that be on the field, in the weightroom, or in the classroom, and have been pushed to find my own voice and speak up to the team on occasion.”

First-year Fiona Heaps ’23 has enjoyed becoming part of a close collegiate team.

“My favorite part of the team so far is the supportive and fun environment,” said

Heaps. It’s this encouraging environment has helped her in her transition to playing college-level field hockey.

Besides cultivating a productive team environment, Swarthmore Field Hockey has some serious on-thefield goals.

“We have several gameoriented goals such as finishing top five in the conference and scoring more than 30 goals this season,” said Semper ’21.

The team’s 2018 season ended in their best conference finish since 2011, and one of the wins that got them

there was the end-of-season thriller versus Haverford.

Swarthmore defeated Haverford 3-2 and are ready to face them again.

“I’m looking forward to some competitive games, especially against Haverford,” Carr ’22 said.

With preseason completed, the team looks to the future. Swarthmore has played four games so far, and although the Garnet only came out on top once, the contests were close and illustrated the team’s potential and resilience. The team is gearing up for the beginning of con-

Reconciling Ethics and Fantasy Football Abby Diebold Social Media Editor

Content warning: sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual harassment A few weeks ago, at 7:28 p.m., I sat at my dining room table, a stack of papers to my right and a Pabst Blue Ribbon to my left. My computer was open to the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Portal, a faded blue “join now” button superimposed over a high resolution photo of a football stadium.

It was draft day — fantasy draft, that is.

I had printed out a list of the projected top 200 players for the season — name, team, position, bye week, strength of schedule. Green highlighter dots marked players I would prioritize with late picks (running back Devin Singletary, tight end Austin Hooper), and red dots players I thought were likely to go too early. Horizontal lines divided the list into groups of ten, to mark the rounds of my upcoming draft. Next to a few players — among them Jameis Winston and Ben Roethlisberger — I had written in the margins a small X: players who had been credibly accused or convicted of sexual assault.

The first fantasy league ever, called the Rotisserie Baseball league, was designed by a group of friends to give regular fans (read: people without the financial means to actually buy a franchise) the opportunity to experience life as a sports team owner. Fantasy sports put fans in the driver’s seat, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions owners, managers, and coaches make every day.

And boy, did week one of the NFL season not make those decisions easy. Of course, there were the usual last minute player calls that made a difference — starting Dak Prescott over Baker Mayfield, choosing to bench T.Y. Hilton, waiving a kicker who pulled a groin. But many of the real questions happened off the field. On Saturday, just two days before their season opener on Monday Night Football, the Oakland Raiders released wide receiver Antonio Brown, following an altercation with Raiders general manager Mike Maycock. Brown had been traded to the Raiders from the Pittsburgh Steelers just five months before. He had not played a single snap in black and white.

For fantasy owners, the

scramble was on. Teams proposed trades, hoping to capitalize on a theoretical panic over Brown’s departure and banking on him being picked up by another team (in our league, this bait was not taken). But the scandals surrounding Brown was only beginning. On Monday, Brown signed with the New England Patriots. The next day, Brown’s former trainer, Britney Taylor, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Florida, alleging that Brown had made unwanted sexual advances (including masturbating behind her) while she was working on his ankle rehabilitation. According to Taylor’s lawsuit, ten months later, he violently raped her. A few days later, another woman came forward anonymously, accusing Brown of inappropriate sexual advances and conduct while she was being commissioned to paint a mural for his house. Brown, for the record, denies both allegations. A Sports Illustrated report also detailed multiple domestic dispute calls following Brown’s conduct with several women, as well as an incident in which Brown threw furniture out a window, nearly striking and killing a two-year-old child.

NFL Commissioner Roger

Goodell has the power to sideline players in “highly unusual situations” by placing them on the commissioner’s exempt list (perhaps most famously in 2014, when Adrian Peterson was placed on the list after it was discovered that he had whipped his son), a step he chose not to take with Antonio Brown prior to the Patriots Week Two game against the Miami Dolphins. Patriots coach Bill Belichick also elected to start Brown in Sunday’s game, refusing to comment on the allegations. While Brown prepared for his first game in blue and red, Taylor spent upwards of ten hours being interviewed by league officials as part of the investigation into Brown’s conduct.

And that settled the matter. Right?

As fantasy owners, however, the decisions were yet to be made. Brown was not an obvious bench — he was not injured, he was likely to play.

There was some amount of risk, certainly, in how much playing time he would get, and whether he would have been able to integrate himself into the offense after less than a week of practices (Brown silenced these critiques on the Pats first drive, with three receptions on

three targets from quarterback Tom Brady). But beyond the tactical, there was another question: was it ethical to start Antonio Brown, given the allegations against him?

There are no moral victories in fantasy football. And the results — and I cannot stress this enough — literally do not matter. Antonio Brown does not get monetary compensation for being in starting fantasy lineups. It doesn’t make him any more likely to make the Pro Bowl, or have his contract renewed, or be Brady’s target in next Sunday’s game. And yet fantasy football provides us with a microcosmic opportunity to make our own moral choices, to face the decisions made by coaches, owners, and commissioners, and see where our values lie.

My opponent in last week’s game chose to start Antonio Brown. It made a difference.

It made a difference to me as a football fan, a woman, a survivor. I opened the Yahoo Sports app and saw him accumulating points off Brown, and it made a difference that he had the privilege to excuse Brown’s conduct for the sake of a victory. While Britney Taylor, while the anonymous woman who accused Brown days later, while sex-

ference play, starting with Dickinson on September 21 at 4:00 p.m. at Clothier Field.

“We have a lot of raw talent on our team, and it’s slowly coming together as we all learn how to play with one another,” Semper ’21 said. “I’m looking forward to the day we step on the field and it all just clicks, because when that happens, no one will be putting us at the bottom of the rankings anymore.”

ual assault survivors everywhere, every day, are forced to live with their trauma, their downgraded self worth, he was allowed to move on, to score points, to forget.

When we ignore the actions of athletes to score points, fantasy or otherwise, we make a difference to football fans everywhere, particularly female fans. By starting Brown, the Patriots made a statement: that winning was more important than supporting women, supporting survivors, supporting victims of domestic violence and abuse. As fantasy owners, we can’t change Goodell’s or Belichick’s decisions. But we can make our own. We can choose ethics, perhaps at the expense of victory We can choose supporting and believing women over scoring an extra point. We can choose to do the right thing.

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What to Think About the Cleveland Browns Scott Eberle Sports Writer Since the 2008 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns have won at least seven games only twice. This season, however, is supposed to be different. For the first time in recent history the Browns appear to have an above-average quarterback. The swaggering, Heisman Trophywinning, former number one overall pick, best airdrummer in the NFL Baker Mayfield is leading a team with unusually high expectations for themselves.

The Browns’ Front Office was very busy this offseason creating a roster with plenty of talent to improve on last year’s 7-8-1 record.

Odell Beckham Jr., the New York Giants star and a consensus top-five receiver in the league, and Kareem Hunt, a Pro-Bowl running back dropped from the Kansas City Chiefs amidst assault allegations, were just some of the additions to the roster. Many people around the NFL believe that the Browns not only

have a chance to win the AFC, but perhaps even a Super Bowl. Week one, however, was a rude awakening for the Browns, who lost to the perennially mediocre Tennessee Titans by 30 points. The loss at home to the Titans would be the beginning of a bizarre week for the Browns organization.

After the loss to Tennessee, the NFL informed Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. that the $190,000 Richard Mille watch that he had worn during the game was illegal according to the NFL’s policy on “hard objects.” This announcement prompted a tweet from Beckham stating “If ain’t one thing.... it’s another…” Yet, in recent days the controversy surrounding Beckham has shifted from his dispute with the NFL to his comments regarding the New York Jets, the Brown’s Week Two opponent. Beckham told the media that Greg Williams, the defensive coordinator for the Jets, is known for teaching his players

“cheap shots” and “dirty hits.” Williams has publicly rebuked Beckham’s claims, but his past is against him. Williams was suspended for a year for his role in what is called “Bountygate” where defenders on the New Orleans Saints were paid for injuring players on opposing teams. Beckham Jr.’s first few weeks as a Brown may cause some fans to wonder if the drama that has followed Beckham Jr. his whole career will continue in Cleveland.

The Browns were the marquee matchup in week two of the NFL season. They traveled to East Rutherford, New Jersey to take on the New York Jets in a Monday night primetime game. The Browns looked much improved in the second week of the season and trounced the Jets 23-3. The Jets, however, were without their starting quarterback Sam Darnold, and have a recent history of being one of the worst teams in the NFL. So, since it is the Jets, it is difficult to use this win as

a measuring stick for the Browns.

It was an interesting night for Odell Beckham Jr. The Cleveland Wideout had a spectacular night on the field. He averaged over 25 yards per catch, scored a touchdown on an 89 yard catch and run, and made another spectacular one-handed catch to add to his already long highlight real of catches. As usual, however, Beckham Jr. was making headlines off the field. He appears to have doubled down in his defiance of the NFL and their policy on “hard objects.” Beckham Jr. played the game against the Jets wearing another Richard Mille watch, but this time it was reportedly a $2.02 Million RM 56-02 Tourbillon Sapphire instead of the $190,000 timepiece he wore last week. It appears the trend here is that the more expensive the watch Beckham Jr. wears, the better his performance is, seeing as he had 90 more receiving yards in week two than in week one. If this trend continues, then

according to my calculations, for every extra $203,330 that Beckham Jr. spends on the watch he wears in week three he will have 10 more receiving yards than he did in week two. By this standard, Odell Beckham Jr. has the potential to break the record for most receiving yards in a single-game if he wears a watch that is worth $5,578,275. If there is indeed a correlation between watch price and productivity, Beckham Jr. would certainly be the player to notice it, and nobody should be surprised if he plays week three in a Jacob & Co Billionaire watch.

Next week will provide Browns fans with an idea of how the rest of the season will progress. The Browns host the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are one of the most complete teams in the NFL and are widely considered to be Super Bowl contenders.

A loss to the Rams next week would suggest that maybe this Browns team is

only good enough to beat teams in the bottom half of the NFL. If the Browns want to win, Baker Mayfield must play better than he has played so far this season. He has finished every game this year with a passer-rating at least ten points less than his 2017-2018 season average, and the Browns will not be an elite team without elite quarterback play. In conclusion, when looking at the Cleveland Browns this year, it will likely be very difficult to ignore the hype and the horology. If you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns, all that is left to do is to sit back and hope that Baker Mayfield can lead Cleveland to the Promised Land.

Athlete of the Week: Woojin Shin ’21 Neel Gupta Sports Editor Woojin Shin is a junior from San Jose, California, and previously attended Bellarmine College Prep. Shin recently scored an important equalizer with about five minutes left in regulation in a tight, overtime win against Eastern University on September 11.

This was his third goal in the past three games: he also netted the winner vs. Penn State Abington and a goal vs. Widener University.

Shin looks to continue his run of form against Dickinson College on September 21 here at Clothier Field.

Neel Gupta: Tell us a bit about yourself, your major, your interests outside of soccer, etc.

Woojin Shin: I am a junior from San Jose, California and pursuing a major in Economics and a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. I enjoy hanging out with my close friends, watching my favorite professional sports teams play, and spending time with family. An essential part of my family is my miniature poodle, Sora, who we all love and care for very much.

NG: How was your team’s weekend trip to the Poconos?

WS: It was an amazing opportunity that helped create an environment that pushed

our tightly knit and supportive group. Our former assistant coach Eric Savage graciously hosted us, and this past weekend was filled with banter, ping pong, and gatorade. We could not have asked for a better weekend and will continue to grow and bond together as the season progresses.

NG: What did the Eastern win mean to you and the team?

A: That was a big-time win and will only provide confidence leading into our future games.

The lads grinded through the awful heat and battled out ’til double OT. Going down 0-1 was crushing at first, but our unrelenting pressure and energy could not be matched. All props to the boys that provided impactful minutes throughout the game.

NG: How has the transition to being an upperclassman and all the leadership responsibility that comes with it gone?

A: The transition from underclassman to upperclassman has gone pretty well. From freshman year, there has been a lot of academic and athletic challenges that I had to overcome. But from these challenges, the experience I received has been impactful and has been used to help the freshmen get through their first semester/year. The fresh-

men will be playing a large and impactful role for us this season and the upcoming seasons, so whatever advice we have for them will only benefit the team and the freshmen’s college journey.

NG: How optimistic are you about the upcoming season, and how is this year’s team different from ones in the past?

WS: I am very optimistic and cannot wait to see this team perform down the stretch. This team has worked harder than before this past spring and summer and it will definitely pay off in the long run. The offseason work has resulted in massive improvements in our fitness, physicality, and mental strength. Also, our team has definitely gotten much closer and we would do anything for each other on the field, but the season is still long and we have a lot of work to do to reach our goals.

Nara Enkhtaivan / The Phoenix